Surf leash tourniquet device and related methods

ABSTRACT

Generally disclosed is a surf leash with a tourniquet device that allows the cord of the surf leash to be convertible into a tourniquet and related methods of use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/882,950, now abandoned, which claims the priority and benefit of U.S.Prov. App. Ser. No. 62/451,571 (filed Jan. 27, 2017) for a “surf leashtourniquet device and related methods.” This provisional document ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Invention

The present disclosure pertains to the field of surf leashes.

Background of the Invention

Surf leashes are used by surfers to attach the surfer's foot to thesurfboard so that the board does not stray away from the surfer in thewater. Common surf leashes are comprised of a urethane cord with a quickrelease device on each end of the cord, with one end attached to thesurfer's ankle and the other end attached to the surfboard.

Surfers are exposed to a lot of dangers in the water and a surfer'slimbs and extremities can be vulnerable to being injured without anyfirst aid help nearby. Some of the risks that surfers are exposed to arerocks, reefs, and well documented shark attacks. Most shark attacks onsurfers occur when the shark mistakes a surfer for prey. When a sharkrealizes the surfer is not its usual meal, it will sometimes release thesurfer from its bite, however the blood loss from the resulting injurymay prove fatal.

One common first aid device for wounded extremities is a tourniquet,which is a constricting or compressing device that is used to controlblood circulation to an extremity for a period of time. A tourniquet isextremely important to control bleeding in cases of extreme blood loss.When a surfer injures an extremity, having a tourniquet within reachcould be life-saving; however, in many instances, finding an operationalor improvisational tourniquet is difficult and can waste valuable timein saving a surfer's life or limb. Thus, there exists a need for a surfleash that can operate as a fully functional tourniquet, so that atourniquet is always within reach. Specifically, there is a need for asurf leash with a tourniquet device for surfers in remote areas withoutready access to lifeguards and paramedics.

There are some embodiments of devices which are able to operate astourniquets. For example, Girton (U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,123) discloses agun sling that is removable from a gun and convertible into atourniquet. Additionally, Brub (US 20120215254) discloses a belt that isoperable as a tourniquet. However, there is yet to be a functionaltourniquet that is readily available to surfers out in the water.Therefore, there exists a need for a surf leash that is convertible to atourniquet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a surf leash thatalso operates as a tourniquet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other objectives of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilledin the art once the invention has been shown and described. The mannerin which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can beobtained is explained in the following description and attached figures.

FIG. 1 . is a top perspective of a leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 4 is a back view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 7 is a right-side view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 8 is a left-side view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 10 is an environmental view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 11 is an environmental view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 12 is an environmental view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 13A is an environmental view of the leash tourniquet device;

FIG. 13B is an environmental view of the leash tourniquet device on anappendage of a surfer;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the tourniquetdevice;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a surf leashtourniquet configured to function as a tourniquet;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet configured to function as a tourniquet.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet with a tourniquet device disposed along the surf leash.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thetourniquet device; and,

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the surfleash tourniquet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Generally disclosed is a surf leash tourniquet that features a rigidtourniquet device to allow the surf leash's cord to function as atourniquet. In one mode of use as a tourniquet, the leash of a surfboardmay be provided through a central bore of the surf leash, wrapped aroundan appendage of a surfer, provided through a hook or other cordreceiver, constricted around the appendage via twist action on thetourniquet device around the central bore of the tourniquet device. Themore specific details of the tourniquet device are disclosed withreference to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 2 is abottom perspective view of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 3 is a frontview of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 4 is a back view of the leashtourniquet 1000. FIG. 5 is a top view of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG.6 is a bottom view of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 7 is a right-sideview of the leash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 8 is a left-side view of theleash tourniquet 1000. FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the tourniquetdevice 1000.

As shown in FIGS. 1-9 , the tourniquet device 1000 may be composed of: afirst receiver 1020, a second receiver 1021, wherein the first andsecond receiver 1020, 1021 may be hooks; a central bore 1040; fouranchor slots 1050; a scraper 1060; and a wax trowel 1070. Suitably, thetourniquet device 1000 may be formed of a concave elliptical disk withhooks or receivers 1020, 1021 defined along the semi-major access, thebore 1040 centrally positioned, the anchor slots 1050 defined by obliquecut outs relative to the semi-minor and semi-major axes of the generalelliptical tourniquet device, and the scraper 1060 and trowel 1070defined by the edge of the device 1000 on the co-vortexes of theelliptical body. As shown in FIG. 9 , the bore 1040 may be fastened viascrews through the center of the body. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , thehooks 1020,1021 are cutout so that the concavity results in the hooksand bore 1040 are positioned in substantial alignment, whereby a leashor cord can pass through both hooks 1020, 1021 and the bore 1040 in anunobstructed manner. The hook and slots may have teeth to grip a cord.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet 1000 of FIGS. 1-9 . FIGS. 11 and 12 are contextual views ofthe surf leash tourniquet device 1000 installed on a leash 3000 of asurfboard 2000. FIG. 13A is another perspective view of the device 1000on a surf leash 3000 of a surf board 2000. Referring to FIG. 10-13 , atourniquet device 10 may be disposed along a surf leash by threading thecord 3000 through the bore 1040 of a tourniquet device 1000 andthreading the cord 3000 along the hooks 1020, 1021 i.e. the first andsecond receiver 1020, 1021.

FIG. 13B is an environmental view of the surf leash tourniquet on anappendage 4000 of a user. As shown, a user may use the surf leash 3000as a tourniquet by wrapping the cord 3000 around the extremity orappendage 4000 to a desired tightness and then wrapping the excess cord3000 around at least one of the hooks of the first and second receiver1020, 1021 before anchoring the cord 3000 in an anchor slot and turningthe tourniquet (in the direction of the arrows) to constrict the cord3000 around the appendage. Suitably, the cord 3000 may be put in theanchor slot to maintain the tightness for an extended period of time.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a tourniquet device10 for a surf leash. Components of the tourniquet device include a firstreceiver 20, a second receiver 21, and a fixed opening/slit 30, whereinthe first and second receiver 20, 21 may be carabiner clips.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a surf leash 1 with atourniquet device 10. The surf leash 1 may be comprised of a cord 2, acuff 3, a rail saver 4, and a swivel 5. Referring to FIG. 15 , in oneembodiment, the tourniquet device 10 may be suitably implemented alongthe length of the cord 2. The surf leash 1 may be used as a tourniquetto constrict or compress an extremity by threading a portion of the cord2 through the slit 30, which allows the cord 2 to be pulledindependently through the tourniquet device 10 and create a loop tosurround an extremity, such as a severed leg or arm. Referring to FIG.15 , in use, the cord 2 is pulled through the slit 30, where the cord 2creates a loop that extends from the slit 30 of the tourniquet device10. Once there is enough slack in the loop to slide an extremitythrough, the cord 2 can be drawn back through the slit 30 on either sideof the tourniquet device 10, or the tourniquet device 10 can slide alongthe cord 2 toward the extremity in the loop, to tighten the loop to thedesired compression. The tourniquet device 10 can be rotated around thebase of the loop to secure the cord 2 and loop in place. Once thedesired amount of constriction is achieved, the user may wrap the excesscord 2 around the first and second receivers 20, 21 to maintain thetightness for a period of time.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet, wherein, as explained above, a loop is created by threadinga portion of the cord 2 through the slit 30 of the tourniquet device 10.The device 10 may be rotated to constrict the cord around an extremity.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet. In this embodiment, the tourniquet device 10 may beimplemented or disposed along the cord 2 of a surf leash 1 by insertingor clipping the cord 2 into a first receiver 20 and another portion ofthe cord 2 into the second receiver 21. Referring to FIG. 16 , in oneembodiment, once the cord 2 is inserted or clipped into the firstreceiver 20 and second receiver 21 respectively, a portion of the cord 2that is between the first and second receiver 20, 21 is on the same sideof the tourniquet device 10 and the cord 2 forms a loop with thetourniquet device 10.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the tourniquetdevice 10. In one embodiment the tourniquet device 10 may be composed ofa first receiver 20, a second receiver 21, and a bore 40, wherein thefirst and second receiver 20, 21 may be hooks.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surf leashtourniquet of FIG. 18 . Referring to FIG. 19 , a tourniquet device 10may be disposed along a surf leash by threading the cord 2 through thebore 40 of a tourniquet device 10 and threading the cord 2 along thehooks of the first and second receiver 20, 21. A user may use the surfleash as a tourniquet by wrapping the cord 2 around the extremity to adesired tightness and then wrapping the excess cord 2 around the hooksof the first and second receiver 20, 21 to maintain the tightness for anextended period of time. In this embodiment, the device 10 would beappended to the leash cord 2, whereas other devices may be separateunits operationally configured to work with existing surf leashes.

In one embodiment of the surf leash 1, the cord 2 may composed of aurethane material or any chemical construction that allows the cord 2 tobe flexible and resilient. The tourniquet device 10 may be composed ofany rigid plastic or metal material.

It should be noted that the above description and recited embodiments orexamples are of illustrative importance only. In other words, thedescriptions of the present disclosure should not be construed aslimiting of the subject matter in this application. Additionalmodifications may become apparent to one skilled in the art afterreading this disclosure. It should be further noted, that while theimprovements are useful to surfers especially, the device and methods ofusing it to curb blood loss may admit to use by other persons who haveaccess to cords or ropes, and who need a tool to make a quicktourniquet.

All original claims are hereby incorporated b reference.

We claim:
 1. A method of using a tourniquet device (1000) comprising:locating the tourniquet device (1000) that is defined by a concaveelliptical disk with a first receiver (1020) and a second receiver(1021) defined along the semi-major axes of the elliptical disk, a bore(1040) centrally positioned on the elliptical disk, at least one anchorslot (1050) defined by an oblique cutout relative to the semi-minor andsemi-major axes of the elliptical disk, a scraper (1060) defined by anedge of the disk, and a plurality of teeth (1070) defined along anotheredge of the disk; attaching the tourniquet device (1000) to a surf leashcord (3000) by passing the cord through the bore (1040) of thetourniquet device (1000) so that the cord (3000) is threaded throughboth the bore (1040) and along the first and second receivers(1020,1021); securing the cord (3000) to a surfboard (2000); wrappingthe cord (3000) around an extremity or appendage (4000); securing thecord (3000) around the extremity or appendage (4000) by threading thecord (3000) in the first receiver and the at least one anchor slot(1050); rotating the tourniquet device (1000) to constrict the cord(3000) around the extremity or appendage (4000); and anchoring the cord(3000) in the second receiver (1021).
 2. The method of claim 1 whereinthe tourniquet device (1000) features a body that is formed of theconcave elliptical disk wherein the bore (1040) and the receivers (1020,1021) are positioned in substantial alignment, whereby the cord (3000)can pass through either or both receivers (1020, 1021) and the bore(1040) in a substantially unobstructed manner.